Australia’s third great train journey is an epic cruise on wheels
By Tim Richards
“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”
I have Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner on my mind as the Great Southern train leaves the town of Murray Bridge. Just a few hours into this epic rail journey from Adelaide to Brisbane, there’s excitement as the train crosses the Murray. I’ve been this way before, and the view is usually of the river surrounded by flood plains upon which random cows munch grass.
This time, it’s different. For weeks, heavy rain has been making its way slowly down the river to South Australia, and the view below is remarkable. The swollen Murray looks like a vast lake, here and there creating islands dotted with isolated trees. With the blue sky reflected in the water below, it’s a marvellous sight – and a reminder that Australia’s climate can be dramatic and unforgiving.
The Great Southern ... an epic journey between Adelaide and Brisbane.
Not that we have the Ancient Mariner’s other problem to contend with. There are plenty of drops to drink aboard this very long train, some of them from the Adelaide Hills through which we passed earlier. For the Great Southern is – like its sister trains, the Ghan and the Indian Pacific – an all-inclusive “rail cruise” which includes in its substantial fare all meals, drinks and excursions, as well as transport and accommodation.
The day began at Adelaide Parklands Terminal with our train comprising two locomotives pulling 26 carriages at a total length of 663 metres. It doesn’t take long for the Great Southern to leave the city behind for the leafy surrounds of the Adelaide Hills, weaving slowly along the railway which linked Adelaide to Melbourne in the 1880s. It’s a pleasant start to our trek, as the train hugs hillsides above deep green gullies and passes attractive old abandoned stations.
Plump those pillows ... Gold service accommodation.
There’s a science to arranging your luggage in the train’s Gold Class compartments and I set about packing away our belongings in the shallow wardrobe, shelves and en suite bathroom. During the day this cabin is dominated by a long comfortable lounge, which folds down into a bed at night (with another bed above). The attached bathroom is practical, with a small washbasin, a toilet and a shower which you use after pulling around a curtain.
It’s a comfortable space, but I’d rather be in the bar and it seems everyone else has the same idea. If you’re heading out on a leisurely rail cruise, you might as well start as you intend to go on. So we’re soon seated on a comfortable lounge with drinks in hand, getting to know our fellow passengers. It’s a friendly crowd with plenty of Aussies, and a smattering of overseas visitors from Britain, Germany and Belgium. One German family has a four-year-old boy who’s a great rail fan and thoroughly enjoys the adventures of the next three days.
Food is a highlight of such journeys and our first lunch aboard lives up to expectations. Served in a cheerful atmosphere aboard a swaying dining car by friendly staff, the mains are a choice of Murray Bridge pork loin, yellowfin whiting fillets, and roasted cauliflower with beetroot skordalia. Such local ingredients commonly find their way onto the menus – one of the desserts at this meal is a salted caramel and hazelnut ice cream made with Murray River salt.
Past the swollen river we head across the flat farmland of western Victoria, past dry, cropped wheat fields and occasional tiny towns with obsolete grain silos.
The scenery picks up in the late afternoon when the Grampians/Gariwerd mountain range appears on the horizon and the train pulls into Stawell. For our first set of excursions there are four options: two different winery tours, a relaxed bushwalk, or a visit by coach to the Boroka Lookout for expansive views complemented by a glass of bubbly. There are, alas, no snacks at the lookout and that turns out to be a problem, as there’s a long delay in getting the train back to Stawell Station for us to reboard. By the time we enter the dining room for supper it’s been over eight hours since lunch, and we’re hungry enough to eat a raw kangaroo.
This is the first hint of an ongoing issue with the Great Southern. Other than at Adelaide, there’s no platform long enough to host the entire train at once. So at excursion stops there’s often much waiting for the train to be returned to stations from sidings, followed by more waiting for it to be shunted forward in stages to allow boarding.
Coffs Harbour dinner.
There’s also too much time spent off the train for my taste. The following morning we arrive at the NSW town of Yass and are decanted into coaches for an hour’s drive to Canberra, where we’ll spend several hours until being bussed back to Goulburn Station in the late afternoon to reboard. I realise there would be logistical challenges in making it happen, but as Canberra has a railway line branching from Goulburn it’d be much more pleasant to arrive there by train.
Having said that, the Canberra outing is enjoyable. We have chosen the “Historical Brushstrokes’ tour, which starts at the relatively new premises of the National Portrait Gallery. Limited for time, our guide Kate takes us on a short but effective tour of the current Who Are You exhibition, which she says takes “a broad church approach to portraiture”. Basically this means art that you might not think of as portraits, including a stylised Vespa scooter with a little baby scooter next to it, looking cute.
After that we head to Old Parliament House. Although I’ve been to the new Parliament I’ve never visited this historic building, so I’m looking forward to seeing its interior. After an onsite lunch in the former members’ dining room, our group joins a guided tour. I get roped into a spot of acting within the former House of Representatives chamber, re-creating a controversial moment from 1954 when the then Speaker invited the visiting Queen into the lower house, against all tradition. Then we trail through the nooks and crannies of the building, from the Prime Minister’s office to the delightful cafe which faces the central courtyard.
We would normally have another set of excursions after arriving at Coffs Harbour the next day, before an evening arrival in Brisbane. However, complex track works in Sydney require the train to slow down, stretching out our schedule. So to my delight we have an entire final day just relaxing on the train, before dinner at a Coffs resort.
Watch the world go by.
Our delayed schedule has us arriving in Brisbane at dawn the day after that, and it isn’t at an enchanting old railway station. The only place our train will fit is the rail freight terminal at suburban Acacia Ridge, from which we will be bused to our hotels in the Brisbane CBD. Before we go, however, there’s a light breakfast of fruit and pastries in the dining car, with a view of shipping containers.
Unglamorous terminus aside, I’ve enjoyed this epic rail cruise across four states and a territory – especially the bonus day just chilling aboard the train.
Five more things to do and see
F Factor A quirky walking tour of distinctly Adelaide foodstuffs, including fritz and frog cakes. See flamboyancetours.com.au
Giant pandas Meet Australia’s only pair of breeding pandas at Adelaide Zoo by booking an Animal Experience. See adelaidezoo.com.au
Greeter’s tour Enjoy a free walking tour through the hidden secrets of the Brisbane CBD, led by a friendly local. See brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on-in-brisbane/brisbane-greeter-tours
Art by the river Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) are next to each other in Brisbane’s South Bank, packed with art treasures. See qagoma.qld.gov.au
Twilight brewery cruise This relaxed tour heads along the Brisbane River, to sample the output of three local breweries. See rivertobay.com.au
The writer paid for his flights and train fare and was hosted in city hotels by Accor.
THE DETAILS
RIDE
The Great Southern runs weekly each way between Adelaide and Brisbane from December to February, from $2340 a person. See journeybeyondrail.com.au
STAY
The Playford is a stylish Adelaide hotel with Art Nouveau curves and a spectacular restaurant. Rooms from $309 a night. See theplayford.com.au
Pullman Brisbane King George Square is handily situated for dining and shopping. Rooms from $339 a night. See pullmanbrisbanekgs.com.au
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